


That Darkness is About to Pass

by Kasuchi



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: F/M, First Dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-10
Updated: 2007-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-27 18:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasuchi/pseuds/Kasuchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once you choose hope, anything's possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Darkness is About to Pass

**Author's Note:**

> This can be considered something of an "alternate" version to [When the Evening is Spread Out Against the Sky](http://archiveofourown.org/works/982233).

He drives her out to Wilkes-Barre, to a resort at the foot of the Poconos mountains, for dinner. It's a nice restaurant, and she can't help but check him out; hair still combed back, no tie to speak of, collar undone, the blue of his jacket bringing out the blue tones in his eyes. She fingers a curl absently, other hand fisting against the full skirt of her dress. She likes the way the black looks against her skin, likes the way it makes him look at her.

Over dinner they talk about everything and nothing. Jim tells her about Future Dwight, and she tells him about his so-called "coup". They laugh at the names of some of the desserts and share what amounts to a chocolate sundae using spoons with long handles. She pays for half before he can think to take the cheque, and he looks at her a little dazed.

She raises an eyebrow at him. "It's the first date, Halpert," she says, like it explains everything. It shouldn't, but he doesn't push the issue and leaves a tip for the waiter. When they stand, she takes care to maneuver around the heels she's wearing, the ones she got because she's trying to be adventurous and because she'd never owned anything resembling a stiletto before. She's pretty sure she could kill a man with her shoes alone, and she chooses to focus on balancing instead. (Silently, she thanks her mother for all those dance lessons.)

She catches him laughing at her, and she glares at him, brandishing her clutch like a weapon. "One word, I swear--"

He holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing, nothing." He avoids her gaze and his sight falls on one of the many rooms. "Hey, it's a wedding reception."

She stops poking him in the chest with her purse and turns her attention to the sign. "This is a nice place. I bet it's beautiful."

"Wanna crash it?" He's grinning at her, his face screaming mischief, and she can't help but be drawn in; she's always liked who she was when she was with him.

"Why not." He pulls the door open for her, and she dips her head in thanks.

Inside, the room is crowded. The bride and groom are in the middle of the floor, with various relatives around them revolving slowly to slow music. The song ends and the DJ spins a different song, a swing tune that's fast-paced and rythmic. Before she can think, Jim takes her hand and leads her out onto the dance floor, purse forgotten on a tabletop along the way. On the floor, they're surrounded by older couples turning and skipping to the beat.

"Follow my lead, okay?"

She nods.

&&&

The dancefloor is clearing now, so they steal away, laughing every step of the way to his car.

When they finally catch their breath (at least, when she finally does), they're about twenty minutes away and the road looms in front of them, dark and straight.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Her voice is breathless, and she can't help but admit that she likes it like that, airy and light.

His eyes don't drift off the road, so she watches the way his hands curl over the edge of the steering wheel. "My sister, when she was about fourteen, decided that she wanted to learn ballroom dancing. It cost less to send us together, so she signed us up."

"Wait, how old were you?"

"Uh, seventeen."

She beams. "How cute!"

"Shut up, it was really embarassing." His hands grip the wheel a little awkwardly, and she feels her megawatt grin tone down a little.

"Whatever. You're really good."

"So are you, keeping up." His eyes drift over at her before flicking back to the road.

"Ballet for a few years. Some lessons stuck, I guess."

"Ah." It's quiet, then, but not the same quiet as before. Without the tension in the air. It's almost like last year, except...She can't place her finger on it, but she distinctly likes this silence better.

His hand drifts to the radio, blindly punch buttons and swearing when the wrong thing happens.

"I got it," she tells him, and brushes his hand away from the console. She remembers his favorite radio stations and in minutes they're singing along to Madonna, complete with hand gestures.

Jim does a mean MC Hammer despite driving, and she makes a note to tease him about that later.

&&&

They pull up to her apartment and she stalls. They've spent something like four hours together, but she's missed him so incredibly much that it doesn't seem fair that he has to leave.

"Come inside," she blurts out, fingers tightening around the clutch purse. She sees his eyes widen, his fingers cease drumming on the wheel, and his head dips in a nod.

He walks her up to the door, and they're both very quiet the entire walk. She gets to the door and fumbles for the keys. How can she lose keys in a purse as small as this?!

"Geez, Beesly. How much do you have in there?" And the chill in the air, despite it being May, shatters.

"Quiet, Halpert," she snaps, but there's the smile on her face giving her away. She holds up the key like a treasure, but he catches sight of something in her purse before she can close it fast enough.

"Hey, is that..."

"Oh, look the door's open," she says, opening the heavy wooden door and flicking on the lights.

"Cough up, Beesly."

She gives him her best innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Pam," he says, advancing on her. She can feel the grin on her face, giving her away. "I know where you're ticklish." He flexes his fingers threateningly, but there's mischief in every line of his face.

So she plays him right back. "Gotta catch me first!" She runs up the stairs to the loft part of her apartment, him close behind, until she collapses on the bed, scooting towards the center to give herself some space.

He reaches the end of the bed and, instead of glaring at her, crawls across it until he's on top of her and she's suddenly aware of how hard she's breathing.

"Hi," she says around gasps for breath.

"Hi," he replies, and she can feel the puff of air on her skin. Grabbing the lapels of his jacket, she pulls him down for a kiss, and she feels the bed sink slightly as he shifts his weight to his elbows. She thinks that she'll love the way he kisses her forever and ever. He pecks a march of kisses along her jaw, and she gasps his name when he grazes her pulsepoint.

"Jim," she says again, and runs a hand along his jaw. "Wait." She feels him still, feels him breathing on her skin, and makes him look at her, because the last time they missed each other by a mile and she's not going to let that happen this time. "Not yet."

They stay like that for a long moment, searching each other, until he nods and she smiles.

He rolls off of her and lies on his side so that they're facing each other. Gently - so gently - he traces her jaw with his hand.

&&&

She wakes the next morning with his arm slung across the waist of her dress and she savors the feeling.

**Author's Note:**

> [1] "that darkness is about to pass" - Emily Dickinson
> 
> [2] "Once you choose hope, anything's possible." - Christopher Reeve


End file.
